LG Blu-ray player streams Netflix, but hold on…

LG Electronics announced the BD300 Blu-ray Disc player this week, which is able to stream movies and television shows from Netflix. The player will be available next month at a retail price of $399. But Netflix is not providing high-definition downloads as of yet.

The BD300 supports BD Live, BonusView, and up-converts DVDs to 1080p. The Netflix capability will allow you to place movie and TV show titles into a queue and instantly stream the content. And, when Netflix starts offering HD downloads, you’ll be able to enjoy the same quality the Blu-ray Discs provide. But for now, you’ll have to wait.

Netflix has not yet announced availability of high-definition downloads. You’ll have to watch standard-definition until that time. And while the BD300 does support Dolby TrueHD/Digital Plus and DTS-HD audio formats, the Netflix audio you will get is only in stereo.

While the LB BD300 is a promising piece of technology, you may want to wait to invest in a player that can’t make full use of its capabilities. We’ll also have to wait and see if the player can up-convert the Netflix SD content, at least then you’ll be getting something close to high-def.